Gurgel-Duarte Official as Strikeforce Challengers 18 Headliner

After initial reports of the pairing surfaced last week,
Strikeforce confirmed the matchup on Tuesday. Little is known about
the card at this time, but the event is scheduled to go down Aug.
12 from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Gurgel has split his last four
bouts, going 2-2 in the Strikeforce cage since departing the UFC in
2008. The Brazilian debuted in the hexagonal cage the following
year, defeating Conor Heun by
decision. Back-to-back defeats would follow, as the 34-year-old
dropped bouts to Billy
Evangelista and K.J. Noons,
respectively.

Gurgel returned to his winning ways in 2011, quickly choking out
Billy
Vaughan in their March confrontation at Strikeforce “Feijao vs.
Henderson.”

Duarte, 27, rides a four-fight winning streak heading into his
showdown with Gurgel. The Guamanian is a Bellator veteran and
recently made his Strikeforce debut in April, submitting Saad Awad with
an armbar at “Diaz vs. Daley.” A BJJ brown belt, Duarte owns over
half of his career wins by submission.